1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a unit for packaging and dispensing a liquid or semi-liquid product, of the type comprising a pump with manual action. The invention is especially suitable for packaging and spraying liquid products used in the field of cosmetics, or dermo-pharmacology, such as perfumes.
2. Description of the Related Art
Devices for spraying liquids using a pump with manual action are well known. For example, FR 2 682 937 describes a pump-type spraying device comprising a pump mounted on a bottle and having a hollow stem which serves as an outlet conduit and as an actuating element, and is movable inside the body of the pump against the action of a spring. A dispensing cap is mounted on the bottle above the pump and has a pressurized actuating element provided with means for mechanical connection with the hollow stem. The cap also has a spraying nozzle and an internal duct which leads into the nozzle, as well as connecting means communicating the hollow stem with the internal duct of the cap. According to this document, the connecting means comprise a flexible tubular element joined to one end of the hollow stem and at the opposite end to the internal duct of the dispensing cap.
To dispense the product, the pressure actuating element is depressed, which produces the pump actuation and the emergence of the liquid through the outlet nozzle via the hollow stem, the flexible tubular element and the internal duct. Under the effect of the actuating pressure, the upper part of the cap carrying the nozzle yields at a connecting zone situated beneath the nozzle. The major drawback of such a device is due to the fact that the actuation of the pump produces a substantial modification of the position of the nozzle (by pivoting), which modification produces a change in the orientation of the sprayed liquid. Inevitably, if no precaution is taken, the product will not be sprayed to the desired spot. Another device of the same type, and hence with the same drawbacks, is described in EP-A 0 747 131.
In EP-A-0 385 077, the actuation of the pump produces an axial displacement of the outlet nozzle which must be taken into account with regard to the positioning of the spraying device relative to the surface to be treated, in the same way as the device discussed above, to ensure that the product is sprayed exactly to the desired spot. Moreover, such a design requires an oblong opening to be made opposite the nozzle, whose axial height depends on the amplitude of the axial movement of the nozzle. Such an opening of an elongate shape has a considerable effect on the aesthetic appearance of the device.
In another field, that is to say, the field of aerosols of the type comprising a pressurized container surmounted by a valve, it is known that the valve stem is connected via a conduit having a certain flexibility to an outlet opening that is substantially axially fixed, so as to absorb the axial displacement linked to the actuation of the pump as a whole, or in part. Such aerosol devices are described in FR-A 2 391 625, FR-A-2 271 995, FR-A-1 258 884, DE-A-2 655 777, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,907,175, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,189,232 and U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,1544,323. However, in the field of aerosols, the stroke necessary for actuating the valve is of the order of some hundredths of millimetres. In the case of a pump, the actuating stroke is of the order of several millimetres. Typically, the actuating stroke is of the order of 6 to 7 mm. Thus the stresses to be taken into account for this type of technology have nothing to do with the stresses encountered in the aerosol devices. Because of this, for many of the devices described in these documents, the structure of the dispensing head would have to be completely thought out again to adapt it to the pump-type dispensing head, therefore requiring a considerable intellectual effort. Moreover, for certain products, perfumes in particular, it is desirable that they should not be packaged in a pressurized form.